Shoe



A May 27, 1930. SPATHELF 1,760,665

SHOE

Filed Nov. l4, 1927 //v VENTOB. 0. 5. 5PA THAILF.

Patented May 27, 193G DAVID E. SPATHELF, OF UNIVERSITY CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR T0 HAMILTON, BROWN SHOE COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI SHOE Application filed November 14, 1927.

. This invention relates to improvements in shoes, one of the objects being to produce a shoe having an extremely simple and inexpensive arch support which not only provides a comfortable support for the arch of the foot, but also aids in preserving the shape of the shoe. More specifically stated, an obj ect is to produce a McKay sewed shoe with a reinforcement which entirely eliminates some of the most important objections to shoes of this type.

McKay sewed shoes have certain advantages which enable them to retain their popularity in spite of the serious defect arising from an inherent weakness at the shank where the sole is usually Very narrow. This is especially true of ladies shoes, wherein the sole structure is essentially light and thin, and the shank is extremely narrow.

These objections to ordinary McKay sewed shoes are well known to those skilled in the art, and numerous attempts have been made to overcome them. Separate reinforcing ele ments have been located below the insole, and the shank of the outer sole has been made wider than that of the insole, but so far as I am aware, the prior art does not disclose any satisfactory solution to this old problem.

In the preferred form of my invention, a McKay sewed shoe is provided with an arch support formed integral with and extending from the body of the insole.

It will be important to observe that both side margins of the body portion of the insole are very securely attached to the outer sole, and that the extended arch support lies adjacent to the attaching means. Since the arch support and the body of the insole are formed by a single piece of material, there is no undesirable added thickness at the shank and by rigidly securing the insole at the extended arch support, this extended portion is secured so firmly that it accomplishes all of the results essential to a solution of the old problem herein mentioned.

In other words, a McKay sewed shoe is thus very substantially reinforced at a point where such shoes have always had a characteristic defect due to the weakness of the thin and narrow shank, and the reinforcing Serial No. 233,064.

element, without adding to the thickness at the shank, provides a wide and comfortable seat for the arch of the foot.

These advantages are obtained without any objectionable modification in either the appearance or the structure of the shoe. In

fact, the shank portion of the outer sole can be narrower than the shank of the insole, and this is regarded as an advantage in the appearance. The extended arch support lies within the shoe where it conforms to the desired shape of the adjacent portion of the upper, so as to aid in preserving that shape. Furthermore, the improvement adds practically nothingto the manufacturing cost, as it merely requires a little additional material in the insole, and since the arch support is integral with the insole, it can be secured by the usual means for attaching the insole to the shoe, without involving any additional labor in making the shoe. In this connection it may be important to bear in mind the advantages obtained by firmly securing the extended arch support by means of stitches which pass entirely through the insole, outer sole and upper, so as to securely unite all of these elements in a line where the body of the insole merges into the extended arch support.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention comprises the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more specifically described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown the preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it is to be understood that the invention comprehends changes, variations and modifications which come within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

Fig. l is a side elevation of a shoe embodying the features of this invention' Fig. 2 is a top view, partly in section, show ing the liner which covers the insole.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 with the liner removed to expose the insole and its arch support.

Fig. i is a detail view of the liner. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the insole and the arch support integral therewith.

Fig. 6 is a transverse section on the line 6--6 in Fig. 2.

To illustrate the invention I have shown a shoe of the McKay type provided with an outer sole 1, an insole 2, a liner 3 cover ng the insole, and an upper 4 having a lower marginal portion between said outer sole and insole as shown in Fig. 6, the upper being provided with a lining 5 which also extends between the insole and outer sole.

The liner 3 comprises a body portion covering the body portion of the insole, and an extension 3 covering the arch support A, said extension being sewed to the body portion of the-liner as shown at 8. This liner is preferably cemented to the insole 2.

The outer sole 1 and insole 2 are secured together by means of stitches 6 which pass entirely through said soles and also through the lower margins of the upper and lining. These stitches appear in Figures 3 and 6. Nails 7 may be driven through the heel portion of the insole as shown in Fig. 3.

The insole 2 is preferably made of leather, or other relatively stifl' material, and it has .an extension A forming an arch support.

The body portion of the insole 2 is approximately coextensive with the outer sole, but the arch support A extends: from one side of the body of the insole, so as to lie beyond the outer sole, as shownin Fig. 6. The upper is turned inwardly at B to overlap the narrow shank portion of the outer sole 1, as. shown in Fig. 6, and the arch support A lies immediately above this inturned portion of the upper. The arch support serves as a reinforcement for said portion B and overcomes the tendency to quickly break down this portion of the shoe. It will be obvious that if the por- 40 tion B were not reinforced by the arch support, the flexibleupper would be forced downwardly by the pressure of the foot. This action quickly destroys the shape of the ordinary shoes not equipped with my improvement.

The arch support A, formed integral with the insole, is a simple and inexpensive addition to the shoe, and it is rigidly secured by a row of the stitches 6 where the body of the insole merges into the extended arch support A. The shoe is, therefore, substantially reinforced, and since the insole is relatively wide at a point where the outer sole is very to the shape and dimensions of the bottom of narrow, the insole conforms approximately 7 relatively long time without undergoing a change in shape at points near the arch.

I claim:

1. In a McKay sewed shoe, an outsole, an insole provided with an arch support in the form of a reinforcing wing formed integral with the body portion of said insole and extending laterally therefrom, a continuous row, of McKay sewed stitches extending through the inner side margin of the shank of said outsole and also through said insole, said continuous row of stitches being located approximately in a line where the arch support merges into the body of said insole, and an upper secured bysaid continuous row of stitches, said upper having an inturned portion directly below said arch support and a similar inturned portion at the opposite side of the shoe, the outer face of which contacts directly with the top face of said outsole.

2. In a McKay sewed shoe of the usual type,

without welts between the outsole and insole, and having margins of the upper between said soles, continuous lines of stitches sewed through opposite side margins of the shank portion of said outsole and extending directly through said insole, to firmly unite all of said parts in said continuous lines, and an arch support formed integral with said insole and extending laterally from one of said rows of stitches.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I hereunto aflix my signature.

DAVID E. SPATHELF.

comfort which results from the ordinary Mcsole, and owing to the reinforcement produced by the extended arch support A, the

shoe will withstand the service stresses for a IOU 

